Tag Archives: dubai
41% of Arab world’s Facebook users are from UAE
41% of Arab world’s Facebook users are from UAE Staff Reporter / 23 June 2013 Of all the Facebook users in the Arab world, the UAE has some 41 per cent — almost double the amount of the country next in line, according to the fifth edition of the Arab Social Media Report series. The report is part of a series spearheaded by the Governance and Innovation Programme at the Dubai School of Government, which conducted a regional survey with around 4,000 participants, exploring perceptions about the quality of schooling in the region, the use of technology and social media in the classroom at different educational levels, interruptions to schooling due to conflict, as well as views on educational reform. Analysing demographics, the report reveals that the UAE continues to score the highest amongst all Arab countries in terms of Facebook penetration at 41 per cent, while Egypt claims around 25 per cent of Arab Facebook users and Saudi Arabia has more than half 50 per cent of the Arab active Twitter users. However, for the first time, most GCC countries saw a drop in social media adoption for the first time in 2013. Mariyam Reshi, a 13-year-old Indian High School student said all of her classmates were on Facebook. “When we go home, we share the day’s happenings and like each other’s statuses.” When asked if she could fathom her world without FB, she giggled and said: “No way … I don’t know how my parents used to manage.” But parents may not be so enthusiastic about the widespread use of social networks, with the report showing they were concerned about the effect of social media, of Facebook and Twitter, on their school-going children. While 55 per cent of students said they used social media as a classroom resource, and 10 per cent of parents said their children have access to social media platforms in the classroom, more than half said their children’s classrooms did not encourage Facebooking or Tweeting. More than half of parents, 56 per cent, said they were worried that their children got distracted from other tasks with access to social media. Abeer Matthew, 48, father of 12-year-old twins Sherlyn and Jacob, said he was against the “invasion of technology in schools, at least till students reach grade 9”. Matthew said he did not much care for receiving homework assignments through email, forget about any social networking. Matthew, a management consultant in Abu-Dhabi said he had to travel a lot on work, and was constantly interacting with people for business who allowed their pre-teenage children to operate their own Facebook accounts, but it was not for him. “I don’t think it’s healthy … they need to be forming more human, one-to-one connections. When they leave the home and go away, they can make as many online associations as they please, while in school and in my house, no.” The research also surveyed parents in Arab countries suffering from political instabilities, violence and civil strife. Fadi Salem, Director of the Governance and Innovation Programme at the Dubai School of Government and co-author of the report, said: “With more than 55 million active Arab users of Facebook and 3.7 million of Twitter, social media is already playing a growing role in formal and informal education. The emergence of new concepts like ‘social learning’, ‘intelligent decision making networks’ and ‘massive open online courses’, is enabling educators, students and educational institutions to rely on social media tools.” The percentage of Arabic tweets generated reached 74 per cent of total tweets in the region in March 2013, up from 62 per cent a year ago. Facebook registered an increase of 10 million users between June 2012 and May 2013. The number of active Twitter users in the Arab World has also grown from just over two million to 3.7 million in the past year. In March 2013, Arab Twitter users generated 336 million tweets. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Mistaken identity issue haunts Indian expat
Mistaken identity issue haunts Indian expat Allan Jacob and Amira Agarib / 21 June 2013 His voice is unsteady as he narrates his arrest and the ordeal that followed in a mistaken identity case. George Thomas’s only “crime” was that he had the same name of a suspect on the run in a bounced cheque case. Today, he’s a shattered man, struggling to rebuild his life, reputation and business after the traumatic experience. The incident has left him scarred and he’s undergoing psychiatric treatment at a hospital in Dubai. But, after getting a clear chit in the case early this month, he’s still asking why the charge was foisted on him when the facts were as clear as day on the day of his arrest at Sharjah airport in 2011. Answers are not forthcoming from the police or the legal affairs department, who appear to have closed the file stating that an “amicable solution” has not been reached. Frustrated with their lack of response, Thomas is considering going to court again seeking compensation. ‘’I don’t know where to start now, it’s all a whirl, my mind is spinning. Friends deserted me for something I didn’t do. In their eyes, I had become a criminal,’’ says Thomas, an Indian expat, who runs a business in Sharjah. He places neat red files on the table and points to a section which has his passport copy and that of the alleged perpetrator. The victim and violator on the same page. “Do I look like him?” he asks. “It was clear from the start that I was not the man they were looking for. Yet, I was imprisoned and mocked in front of the world and later cast aside like my life didn’t matter, he says, his anger rising. “I’ve lived in the UAE for 15 years and I don’t deserve this.” Thomas’s troubles began on December 18, 2011, after he was arrested at Sharjah airport on his way to India. The case dates to 2006, when a bank filed a petition with the Bur Dubai police station against their customer George Thomas Thomas, aged 54, after a cheque issued by him had bounced. The file moved to the Dubal Public Prosecution and the department issued an order against George Thomas P. V. Thomas, aged 46 (the wrong man) on September 26, 2010, according to records. He was tried in absentia and sentenced to five months in prison by the Dubai Court of First Instance. Summons were issued on February 2, 2011, and an arrest warrant was issued on February 7, 2011. Thomas was picked up from the airport and separated from his wife and kids. He was lodged in Dubai’s Al Aweer jail, where he was interrogated. He says he had nothing to confess, and three days later, he was released after he handed over his passport. “I could not go anywhere and my business was hit as losses mounted. My family suffered in silence, my mental balance was affected and I checked into a hospital for psychiatric treatment,” he says. Through all this trauma, he also had to attend hearings at the Court Of Appeal. “I was confident I would win the case, and I did after a long trial spanning 10 sessions.’’ The appeals court overturned the verdict and ruled in his favour on May 7, 2012. George Thomas P. V. Thomas was not a criminal after all. He was free to go. “It was right in front of their eyes when they first arrested me; only they didn’t see it.” Since then, he’s been seeking answers from the Dubai Police. “Why me?” he often asks during our conversation, staring into the distance. “They never took notice when I protested and pleaded my innocence two years ago. Now, they don’t bother,’’ he says. He sought an explanation from the Dubai Police Headquarters, but they referred the matter to the Legal Affairs Department who, on June 6 this year, issued a certificate stating that the disputed parties had “failed to reach an amicable settlement”. It’s a statement that is as befuddling as his arrest and incarceration on trumped up charges. Thomas, meanwhile, has sent a letter through the Indian consulate to the office of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. “Shaikh Mohammed’s quest for excellence is something I admire. I only hope the criminal justice system seeks excellence and not send more innocents like me to jail. They’ll only ruin lives of honest people.’’ Legal view According to Dr Jamal Al Sumaithi, Director-General of the Dubai Judicial Institute, any person who has been unfairly subjected to harm and his/her rights have been violated, can lodge a complaint against the government department concerned. “They should approach the legal department of the Dubai Government which will help the two parties reach a solution. If they fail to do so, the affected party may approach the Dubai Civil Court.” — allan@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
How to Profit from Real Estate in Dubai
Since the Crown Prince of Dubai made changes to his country’s constitution back in 2002 to allow for the foreign freehold ownership of real estate in Dubai, … Continue reading
